Killed in Fringe Time: A Matt Cobb Mystery

As v-p in charge of special projects at a fictional television network in New York City, Matt Cobb is used to handling delicate egos and tricky situations. In this instance, Matt, whose job security is reinforced by his romantic relationship with the network's leading shareholder, must ease the paranoia of talk-show host Richard Bentyne, who has an old lover, a new lover, a hit show and morbid delusions on a grand scale. But Bentyne's delusions prove well-founded when he is fatally poisoned just before Clement Bates, a famous, wealthy eccentric whom no one but Bentyne has seen for 35 years, is due to appear on his show. Cobb often cracks wise and is frequently very funny; the suspect pool is more than deep enough; and the solution, tying up more murder and assorted motives, manages to play fair on all counts. The fringe time of the title is apparently media-speak for the period after the late news and before the morning news and chat shows, and in DeAndrea's able hands, it's a very scary place. (Nov.)